Pakistani government promises vote by May 6

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ISLAMABAD Pakistan's government, under extreme pressure from a protest movement that has paralyzed the capital, announced a date Wednesday for an election that would mark a first-ever democratic transfer of power.

Despite calls for months from the political opposition to clarify the timing of the election, there had been no official word. But the arrival in the capital Monday of charismatic preacher Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri with 50,000 supporters meant the government needed the opposition to stand with it against what many see as an effort to end Pakistan's latest experiment with democracy.

On Wednesday, Qadri demanded dissolution of the government, parliament and the Election Commission. According to him, there's a “fake democracy” run by criminals that must be cleaned up before any election can be held.

If those elections do take place, it would be the first time an elected government hands over the reins to another elected administration. In the past, the military has stepped in to topple elected governments, using civilian proxies or taking over itself.

The government suspects that the judiciary and the military are supporting Qadri in an effort to stop the election. The United States, which supported the military government once led by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has backed democracy in the key U.S. ally since 2008.

Once an election is set, the constitution mandates that a supposedly neutral caretaker administration assume power for the next two or three months to oversee the polls.

Khursheed Shah, a senior government minister, said the election would be sometime from May 4 to 6, and no later. “I'm giving you a date,” Shah said.

Qadri has vowed to keep the protesters in Islamabad until his demands of political reforms are met.

Police on Wednesday charged him with civil disobedience. Asma Arbab, a member of parliament for the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, said, “This is not a protest. The capital has been taken hostage. They are inciting revolt.”

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